Tipsheet

Rep. Greg Steube Moves to Expel Democrat Sheila Cherfilus McCormick Following Ethics Probe

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  January 30, 2026 1:00 PM

Democratic Rep. Sheila Cherfilus McCormick was indicted late last year on charges she allegedly stole $5 million in FEMA funds and allegedly used various accounts to hide the money. In November, Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) moved to censure Cherfilus McCormick and strip her of her committee assignments, saying the charges were "one of the most egregious abuses of public trust I have ever seen."

"Stealing $5 million in taxpayer disaster funds from FEMA of all places is beyond indefensible. Millions of Floridians have relied on FEMA after devastating hurricanes, and that money was supposed to help real disaster victims," Steube said. He also vowed to move to expel Cherfilus McCormick from Congress if she was convicted and filed a motion to expel her in November.

Now, it seems, Steube isn't waiting for that conviction, after House Ethics findings detailed dozens of serious financial crimes.

"When we return to Washington," Steube wrote on X, "I'll call up a resolution to expel her from Congress.

Steube shared a 59-page an the Ethics Committee detailing its findings:

For each of the following alleged violations, the Investigative Subcommittee (ISC) has determinedthere is “substantial reason to believe that a violation of the Code of Official Conduct, or of a law, rule, regulation, or other standard of conduct applicable to the performance of the official duties or the discharge of official responsibilities by a Member, officer, or employee of the House of Representatives has occurred.” See Rule 19(f), Rules of the Committee on Ethics. The ISC has been duly authorized by the U.S. House of Representatives (House) Committee on Ethics (Committee) to investigate allegations involving Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (Respondent).

...

The ISC met 12 times over the 118th and 119th Congresses to conduct its investigation into allegations involving Respondent. It sent 30 requests for information and issued 59 subpoenas. The ISC reviewed over 33,000 documents totaling hundreds of thousands of pages of materials and conducted 28 witness interviews.

Respondent initially produced some documents to the ISC. Respondent then invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination following receipt of a subpoena duces tecum to obtain documents Respondent had not provided to the ISC and a subpoena ad testificandum to obtain her testimony.

Respondent and several alleged co-conspirators were indicted on November 19, 2025, oncharges including “stealing federal disaster funds, laundering the proceeds, and using themoney to support her 2021 congressional campaign.”

The report said the ISC's investigation "has revealed substantial evidence of conduct consistent with the allegations in the indictment, as well as more extensive misconduct."

Expelling Cherfilus McCormick will require two-thirds of Congress. 

Cherfilus McCormick has dismissed the charges against her, saying the indictment is "unjust," "baseless," and a "sham." She also told CSPAN back in November, "If this is what Congress is becoming, where they're always trying to intimidate you, scare tactics, especially attacking minorities, black and brown people, then we're going to have to keep fighting for the district."

On January 22, a judge delayed the trial until April, after three co-defendants requested a delay. Cherfilus McCormick also hasn't entered a plea and has had two delays in her arraignment while working to hire an attorney.